Wrongly accused with GAS meter tampering by SSE

[ericsbrother]

you already know what next but you didnt do it- inspection of faulty meter by independent person and get back to the Ombudsman and ask to have the matter reconsidered by their tier2 persons. The tier 1 people are just plain rubbish at their job.

[nacid]

My concern is that even if I requested an independent testing they would still carry on with chasing the debt....

[unclebulgaria67]

My concern is that even if I requested an independent testing they would still carry on with chasing the debt....

 

Classic signs of normal anxiety where people are paralysed into not doing something, because their fears are overiding actions that should be taken. This is perfectly normal human behaviour, which happens to most of us, but we don't like admitting because it seems like weakness. I have had situations like this and most people reading this thread will have experienced the same when faced with very difficult situations. Not being patronising, but simply stating what humans go through.

 

Now to why you HAVE to ask for the meter to be made available for independent inspection.

 

1). You are entitled to be able to inspect a device which you believe is faulty and has caused a large bill to be produced. If the meter is not available for independent inspection, you can raise this in court as part of your defence. Remember you have been accused of tampering with this meter. Your independent inspection might reveal it was not tampered with or there could be another explanation,

 

2). If you don't bother to ask for the meter to be available for inspection, then if it gets to court, you are almost accepting that SSE's own report may be correct and it is not worth challenging it.

 

3). I cannot see SSE continuing to enforce this debt if you are in the process of trying to establish that this debt is not owed, as a mistake has been made. Thus is why asking for independent meter inspection is a MUST and why you should ask the Ombudsman to escalate to tier 2 of their complaints.

 

4). You have previous energy usage statements where you can evidence paying for normal energy usage and then there is this blip where the energy usage has suddenly gone high through no action by you. The meter needs inspecting in your behalf to find out the issues.

 

5). There have been other cases featured on a BBC consumer programme where it was shown that people accused of meter tampering were proved incorrect. There was a problem with some parts of the meter where parts had worn down and there had been no tampering. A second inspection of the meters revealed faults, rather than tampering.

[nacid]

Thanks a lot. As a matter of principle I would go to court if needed. I was thinking to maybe start paying £20 per month and buy some time but this seems like admitting guilt.

 

Already wrote to SSE and asked them to get meter tested independently.

 

Regarding energy used I don't dispute the reading - I think they are fine. SSE says I've stolen gas and it was not metered.

 

I bit of the protective cover was missing and I was told you can reverse the readings.

 

I will write to the Ombudsman and ask them to escalate the complain...

 

Will keep you posted

 

Thanks for the great support !!!

[nacid]

Sent another request to head of customer service as this is getting ridiculous by the minute...

 

As you are aware your accounts were closed on 29 February 2016 and we are no longer the supplier of ADDRESS which means we are unable to arrange the independent meter examiner. If you feel there is an issue with your meters please contact your new supplier to discuss this further.

 

Whilst I note your comments I do not feel there is anything else we can add and, having asked Ombudsman Service: Energy to consider your case, the Ombudsman is the appropriate channel for ongoing correspondence.

 

I appreciate that you may not agree with this conclusion and I am sorry that we have been unable to meet your expectations on this occasion. Please be advised that any future correspondence received regarding the same issue will be filed for information only and not responded to.

[unclebulgaria67]

Sent another request to head of customer service as this is getting ridiculous by the minute...

 

As you are aware your accounts were closed on 29 February 2016 and we are no longer the supplier of ADDRESS which means we are unable to arrange the independent meter examiner. If you feel there is an issue with your meters please contact your new supplier to discuss this further.

 

Whilst I note your comments I do not feel there is anything else we can add and, having asked Ombudsman Service: Energy to consider your case, the Ombudsman is the appropriate channel for ongoing correspondence.

 

I appreciate that you may not agree with this conclusion and I am sorry that we have been unable to meet your expectations on this occasion. Please be advised that any future correspondence received regarding the same issue will be filed for information only and not responded to.

 

Ok so make the request via the Ombudsman with a copy to SSE that the meter taken out that was allegedly tampered with needs to be made available for independent inspection. Send the Ombudsman a copy of the latest response from SSE, so they can see why you are involving the Ombudsman again.

[nacid]

Ok so make the request via the Ombudsman with a copy to SSE that the meter taken out that was allegedly tampered with needs to be made available for independent inspection. Send the Ombudsman a copy of the latest response from SSE, so they can see why you are involving the Ombudsman again.

 

Already did it yesterday. Will see what comes out today...

Thank you.

[unclebulgaria67]

If you stopped paying SSE after this dispute, you should calculate your normal usage of energy and start making payments based on this.

 

If it ever gets to court, you can then show that you have no problem paying for actual usage, but you do have a problem paying for excess amounts due to a faulty meter.

[nacid]

Luckily for me the removal of meter was shortly after we sent a request to switch our energy suppler. So the new meter is owned by eON and I owe SSE about 69 unit which should be about £30.00

This is from our last bill to SSE till eON took over. I am happy to pay the £30 owned but not more.

[unclebulgaria67]

So pay SSE £30 which you believe is the approx amount that is due for actual usage and advise that you continue to dispute there was any tampering or other reason to justify any other demands being made. That you require the meter taken out to be made available for independent inspection and that you have asked the Ombudsman to review their complaint handling.

[nacid]

Sent emails to the Ombudsman and SSE. This was a week ago and still no replies.

 

I just received an Unpaid Bill letter by post from SSE asking for a payment in 7 working days and mentioning debt collection agency and Summons to recover...

[nacid]

Still no reply to my email for gas meter testing.

 

Spoke to SSE on the phone and I was told that this is no longer possible and they referred me to the Deadlock letter.

 

Complaint procedure has been exhausted and they will carry on with debt collection. Nothing they can do on their side.

 

Lots of B****t

 

They said the Ombudsman tested the meter and found it was tempered with - I do not think this is the case as this was not requested by me before and do not have anything to say so in their emails.

 

I will be waiting for the debt collectors to start ringing 5 times are day and hopefully this will go to court at some point where I will take my chances.

 

Regards,

[unclebulgaria67]

Still no reply to my email for gas meter testing.

 

Spoke to SSE on the phone and I was told that this is no longer possible and they referred me to the Deadlock letter.

 

Complaint procedure has been exhausted and they will carry on with debt collection. Nothing they can do on their side.

 

Lots of B****t

 

They said the Ombudsman tested the meter and found it was tempered with - I do not think this is the case as this was not requested by me before and do not have anything to say so in their emails.

 

I will be waiting for the debt collectors to start ringing 5 times are day and hopefully this will go to court at some point where I will take my chances.

 

Regards,

 

I think you need to report any false info to the Ombudsman. If SSE claim the Ombudsman tested the meter and this is not the case, then the Ombudsman needs to be made aware of such a false claim.

[Good Sister]

They said the Ombudsman tested the meter and found it was tempered with - I do not think this is the case as this was not requested by me before and do not have anything to say so in their emails.

 

Load of nonsense.

 

The Ombudsman can advise SSE to arrange a meter test if it deems necessary but they will never do the testing themselves. I would agree with unclebulgaria67 in letting the Ombudsman aware of that one.

 

In the meantime, if you are sent debt collection letters, you are free to ignore them as they have no powers. If they get hold of you by telephone, make sure you keep a log of when they call.

[ericsbrother]

problem is you are using email. Write to the ombudsman and make it clear that you want this investigated as a second tier complaint.

Sent emails to the Ombudsman and SSE. This was a week ago and still no replies.

 

I just received an Unpaid Bill letter by post from SSE asking for a payment in 7 working days and mentioning debt collection agency and Summons to recover...

[nacid]

Got a reply. I will send the request by post and email again...

 

Message from Ombudsman Service

Thank you for contacting us by email on 3 November 2016 regarding your complaint with SSE.

We acknowledge your comments and advise that your complaint has been closed as the outcome of the investigation was no remedy or award.

To clarify we have attached the relevant correspondence that we sent to you that advises of our decision.

Yours sincerely

Case Administration Team

[king12345]

Sent another request to head of customer service as this is getting ridiculous by the minute...

 

As you are aware your accounts were closed on 29 February 2016 and we are no longer the supplier of ADDRESS which means we are unable to arrange the independent meter examiner. If you feel there is an issue with your meters please contact your new supplier to discuss this further.

 

Whilst I note your comments I do not feel there is anything else we can add and, having asked Ombudsman Service: Energy to consider your case, the Ombudsman is the appropriate channel for ongoing correspondence.

 

I appreciate that you may not agree with this conclusion and I am sorry that we have been unable to meet your expectations on this occasion. Please be advised that any future correspondence received regarding the same issue will be filed for information only and not responded to.

 

In this communication they seem to imply that the meter is still in use in your property.

Template???

Incompetence???

Or are there missing pieces in this puzzle???

[ASIIndustries]

Hi nacid, have you asked for the meter to be independently inspected?

 

If not why not?

 

I would expect by now the meter will not be available for inspection and most likely been destroyed within 3 months of removal!

 

What type of gas meter are we discussing; metric or imperial?

 

Meter readers are just that meter readers, if they see damage all they should do is call for a meter engineer to inspect the meter, they should only be a maximum of 30 seconds in the property, I would suspect the meter reader that stayed 10 minutes probally caused the damage themself!

[nacid]

In this communication they seem to imply that the meter is still in use in your property.

Template???

Incompetence???

Or are there missing pieces in this puzzle???

 

Copy and paste combined with incompetence...

No one cares....

[nacid]

I was told by the revenue protection officer that a cover on the left hand side is missing and you have direct access to dials and can turn the readings back...

 

 

We could not find the cover and it might have been missing for ages.

 

I asked SSE and the Ombudsman to get the meter tested independently.

 

SSE told me that the Ombudsman had tested and found it to be tampered with (over the phone) - which is not the case.

 

The Ombudsman said the case is closed.

 

I am sending a letter by post to escalate this to Tier 2.

 

Thank you all!!!

[king12345]

I can't see any missing cover on the left side.

It looks like the transparent cover wraps around so nobody can touch the dials.

So the meter is still in your property.

Can you get it tested independently and when found that has not been tampered with request the inspection fee back (as well as closing the case)?

[nacid]

I can't see any missing cover on the left side.

It looks like the transparent cover wraps around so nobody can touch the dials.

So the meter is still in your property.

Can you get it tested independently and when found that has not been tampered with request the inspection fee back (as well as closing the case)?

 

 

 

 

There is a bit missing as you can access the dials and also this is where the security seal should be...It was also missing..

No this a picture taken when I got the last reading from the meter before eON took over.

 

We changed supplier and that's why they came to take readings. We have a new meter now..

 

The old one went to an evidence back

[king12345]

There is a bit missing as you can access the dials and also this is where the security seal should be...It was also missing..

No this a picture taken when I got the last reading from the meter before eON took over.

 

We changed supplier and that's why they came to take readings. We have a new meter now..

 

The old one went to an evidence back

 

In that case you have to play on the fact that sse lied about the meter being inspected by the ombudsman.

Getting everything in writing would be best, otherwise recorded calls.

My feeling is that at one point the seal must have been knocked off along with the cover and sse now wants to profit by scaring you about potential ccj, criminal charges and all the other nonsense.

They must make the meter available to you for independent inspection.

In fact, now that they've kept the meter for so long and many people could have tampered with it, they couldn't even use it in evidence.

Unless they can prove that from when it was removed there's been a security chain to safeguard its conditions.

Very likely the bloke who removed it chucked it in the back of his van and then into a room full of other meters once at sse head quarters.

As you haven't done anything wrong, don't give in.

[nacid]

Message from Ombudsman Services

 

Thank you for your letter received on 16 November 2016.

 

You advised in your letter that you wished to escalate your complaint to tier two. Ombudsman Services does not have a tier system of complaints, if you are unhappy with the level of services you have received while using our service, please follow the link below or use the attached leaflet and our customer relations department will intervene and review the complaint.

 

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/unhappy-with-our-service-form-os.html

 

You advised in your letter that SSE had informed you that Ombudsman Services has tested your meter and that if this was not correct information you requested that we arrange an independent testing. Please be advised that Ombudsman Services is not an engineering firm and we do not test meters.

 

We trust this clarifies our position.

 

If you want to speak to us call 0330 440 1624. Our offices are open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

[unclebulgaria67]

Definitely ask for your Ombudsman complaint to be reviewed.

 

Also i suggest you write to SSE, saying that the Ombudsman has advised it is up to SSE to make the meter taken out available for independent inspection and the Ombudsman won't get involved in that process. In the letter, state that you have asked the Ombudsman to review the complaint further.